High-volume, high-pressure pumps are utilized at wellsites for a variety of pumping operations. Such operations may include drilling, cementing, acidizing, water jet cutting, hydraulic fracturing, and other wellsite operations. In some pumping operations, several pumps may be fluidly connected to a well via various fluid conduits and/or a manifold. During such operations, the fluid conduits and/or the manifold distributes low-pressure fluid from a mixer, a blender, and/or other sources among the pumps and combines pressurized fluid from the pumps for injection into the well. The fluid conduits and/or the manifold may have a large physical size and weight to satisfy intended fluid flow rates and operating pressures generated by the pumps.
Success of the pumping operations at a wellsite may be affected by many factors, including efficiency, failure rates, and safety related to operation of the pumps and the manifold. High fluid pressures, flow rates, and vibrations generated by the pumps may cause mechanical fatigue, wear, and other damage to the pumps and various downstream equipment, including the manifold and associated fluid sensors, valves, couplings, and conduits. Mechanical fatigue and wear may cause leaks and/or other failures in the pumps and the various downstream equipment.
To ensure that the wellsite equipment operates as intended, human operators at the wellsite may perform pressure and flow rate calibrations, diagnostics, and other tests before commencing actual downhole pumping operations. To perform such tests and to oversee the actual downhole pumping operations, the operators typically approach the wellsite equipment to visually inspect the fluid sensors and to manually adjust the fluid valves, thus exposing themselves to a potentially dangerous environment. Approaching wellsite equipment during testing or pumping operations may be dangerous, such as because high-pressure fluid within such equipment may escape, which may lead to serious injuries. Also, performing the testing and pumping operations manually may result in inconsistent equipment settings and, thus, inconsistent performance between different operational stages or jobs caused by human error.